Milpa in Sod

Hi all, I recently had the opportunity to observe some farm practices in the highlands of Guatemala. One of the most interesting was watching a new milpa being planted. The farmers had burned off the grass and vegetation in a fallow field. They then sowed corn directly into the sod using a long handled digging stick. They would take a step, open the soil with the stick, drop two or three kernels, step on the hole to close it, take another step and repeat. They sowed a field of about half an acre entirely by hand. From what I could tell they were sowing corn and beans together. I sadly don’t speak Spanish so I couldn’t ask very detailed questions.

I have the privilege of being a farmer and having some space to work with. I am contemplating doing something similar in a 5500 sq ft area that has been managed pasture for close to twenty years. Unfortunately, I can’t conduct a controlled burn, but am planning on scalping the sod with a mower and planting in the same way, albeit I’ll give the corn a head start. I have a collection of indigenous seeds that includes maize, storage beans, gourds, sunflowers, and an early variety of jalapeno.

My question for you all is whether you think seeding into sod will work or whether the grass is likely to choke the corn. The Guatemalan guys showed me how they hill up the rows at different stages of corn growth which also serves to control weeds. But I grew up a totally conventional farmer and I’m paranoid. Mechanical cultivation and synthetic herbicides are available, I’d just rather not for the sake of experiment. Ultimately, I’d like to make some published materials available after doing this for a couple of years. There seems to be very little information on this growing system in English, at least that I could find.

Appreciate any feedback. I’m in zone 6a, Upstate NY. Get a good amount of rain most years. Average to good natural fertility. Thanks for reading this long question.